Starting device for explosive-engines.



PATENTED JULY 21, 1908 Y J. F. DENISON. STARTING DEVICE FOR ,EXPLOSIVE' ENGINES.

APPLICATION IILBD DEG.13,1904.

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PATEN TED JULY 21, 1908.

J. F. DENISON. STARTING DEVICE-FOR BXPLOSIVB ENGINES.

APPLIUATION FILED DEO.13.1904.

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wiltm aw v PATENTED JULY 21,-1908.

J. F. DBNISOBL' STARTING DEVICE FOR .EXPLOSIVE ENGINES APILIOATION FILED DEO.13,1904.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT osmon JULIAN F. DENISON, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN E.

MAR, OF WEST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

s'rrm'rme DEVICE on EXPLOSIVE-ENG'IN-ES.

p Specification of Letters Patent. Application fil ed, recombine, 1994. Serial No. 236,5:54.

Patnted-Tuly 21, 1908.

acter; its object being, among other thin s',

to provide an explosive engine with such of vices as arpama the e inc to be started instantly by the opening a valve without resorting to the usual procedurepof manually rotating the shaft whilethe explosive mixture is being {fol-med; a further object being to accomplish these results by mechanismthat can be economically constructed and readily assembled; I

;To ;these,.and other ends, my invention consistsinthe explosive engine having certain-detailsvofconstruction and combination of; partslas; will :be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

' "Referring to .the'drawings, in which like numeralsof reference-designate like parts in thegseveral figures; Figure; 1 isa front elevationoffan explosive en ine having my improvementsi att'ached t ereto;. Fig. .2 is .a

transverse fsectional elevation of one of the 3;1sv .an enlarged sectional view of ;the

li e vejmechanislmtaken upon line CD of the same-mec -do Fig; 4-; and E' .4 is alsectlonal-elevation of anismptakenlupon line E-F' of Fig.

Iii-certain types. of explosive engines it is the practice to start them by manually im parting a number'of'rotations to the crank shaft, and to continue thismanual operation until the'vaporizer has produced a mixture, the ex losion 'ofwhich will operate the piston. :1 engines of small size. the'labor required is not very great, but in 'largeengines the labor required is so considerable that it a serious detriment torthe adoption of this type of engine where they would otherwise be applicable.

' Explosive engines have been heretofore devised with devices attached thereto whereshut off manually and the pistons previously -at which time the air shaft, 4 the connection by one or more of the pistons in the series are operated by means of air pressure While. the balance of the pistons are being operated as gas engines,.and as thepistons are successively operated by gas, the air valves are operated by air are then operated as usual by the explosive compound.

In my invention I provide means, preferably a valve, whereby the air will be admitted into each of the cylinders in succession, which air is under sufficient pressure to operate the piston and through it the engine until such time as the Vaporizers have produced a mixture, the explosion of which wili beof sufiicient pressure to operate the piston,

ressure will. be automatically shut off andt episton will continue its operations in the usual manner by the exploslon of the mixture. By this device the engine will bestarted and propelled by the air,

which does not interfere with the production of the ex losive mixture, which, as soon as completed is exploded by a spark, and the pressure being greater thanthe air pressure, automatically closes the air valve and shuts off the air pressure. Under this construction one or more of the pistonsin the series may be operating by air pressure'while'the balance of the "pistons are operating by the explosive mixture. This was impracticable 7 under the old methods of starting, and operatin explosive engines;

y invention is especially applicable to atwo-cycle ty e of engine wherein the air is sucked in be ow the piston, and during the-- down movement thereof is compressed until a port is uncovered, at which time it passes through the ports from below the .piston to above the same and is afterwards exploded. An engine of this general type is illustrated in the drawings, wherein the numeral '1 designates the cylinder, ,2 the piston, 3 the crank etween the crank shaft and the piston, 5 the pipe leading n om the vaporizer, 6 the exhaust pipe, 7 the cylinderhead, and 8 the sparker." All of these parts operate. in a well-known manner,- i; a, the explosive mixture passes through "the pipe 5 and enters the chamber 6, from which it passes into the bottom 9.of the engine During the I wherein the crank rotates. downward movement of the piston the charge is compressed and when the endof the down stroke of the piston is reached the port is uncovered and the explosive mixture 110 escapes from beneath the piston to the top of the cylinder. The returnmovement of the piston ag'aincompresses the charge and at the roper time the sparking mechanism explo es the same, which causes the piston to gmove downwardly again, and just before the piston uncovers the port it uncovers the port hot .11 which permits theproducts" of the e'xplo ed charge topass out through theexhaust pipe 6. d I

The improvements devised by me for ac-- 'complishing the ends hereinbefore noted valve 20 having a stem 21 attached'thereto' which passes through the packing gland 22 fixed to said body member, and surrounding said stem is suitable packing for reventing the leakage of air therethrough. onnecting the valves 20 and 15 is the chamber 23 for the passage of air from one valve to-theother.v

Motion is imparted to the valve2O through the rod-24 which engages one-end of the 1 valve stem 21 during-a ortion of itsstroke and is'threaded at the ot er end in a strap 25 that encircles the eccentric :26 fixed to the shaft 27' thatis rotatably mounted in inte-.

gral lugs 28. The shaft 27 is rotated from the crank shaft 3 which is provided with the usual driving pulley 43. Anyof the many forms of reversing mechanism may be used to connect the shafts 3 and 27 and I do not claim the details thereof as any portion of my invention, but as shown herein, the mechanism comprises a sprocket chain 29 which is connected with the sprocket wheel .30 upon the shaft 3, and a sprocket wheel 31 fixed to the shaft 27, and runs against an idler wheel 32 fixed to a lever 33 rotatably mounted upon the shaft 27 and having a handle 34 whereby the said lever may be manipulated. v

The particular form of mechanism for re versing herein shown is to be made the subject of another application.

Afiixed to one of the cylinders is anair pump comprising a cylinder 35 having a piston operative therein and rod 36 whic is connected with a strap 37 encircling an eccentric 38 fixed to said shaft 3. This air pump may be operated independently of the gas engine if desired, or connected therewith as-herein shown, and any form' or type of air pump may be used within my invention. Connecting all of the valve bodies 12 is the pipe connection 39 w 'ch is joined to the air pump by the piping 4 and air cook 41. The

air pump'is also connected by the pipe 42 with a suitable air tank or reservoir (not shown), whereby compressed air may be stored. In operation a supply of air under the required pressure is maintained within the air tank so that ,to start the en ine the air cook 41 is opened'and the air in t e tank passes therefrom through the pipe 42 and air cook 41 into the ipe connection 39 and thence into the air chamber 23 in the valve body 12, There being a series of cylinders and the valves 20 being operated from the eccentrics 26 which are arranged about the shaft 27 at varying an les to each other, some of the valves 20 be o'if their seat so that the air pressure can pass therethrough.

and permits the air to enter the cylinder above the piston, and this pressure is sufficient to operate said piston and imparta rotation to the cran shaft. After the engine has started, the valves'20 connected with the other cylinders are opened succes-' sively by the rotation of the shaft 27, thus permitting the air to enter each of said cylinders and successively operate the pistons therein. This continues until the explosive mixture has been formed bythe vaporizingmechanism and has entered any one of thecylinders and the sparking mechanism exploded the same,. at which time the-pressure generated by the explo- This air pressure after it passes through the chamber 23 forces the valve 15 off its seat sion of the mixture is greater than the air a pressure, hence the valve 15 is forced and eld'onto its seat and the air supply automatically shut offand the engine continues to'op'erate as an explosive engine as a result oft e successive explosions. If p'erchance the vaporizer connected with any one of the cylinders-should fail to operate the stored air pressure would immediately force the valve 15- off its seat and that particular cylinder would continue to operate by means of the air-pressure. air that is conveyed-to the pipe connection 39 may be derived from any source and can l'be'=:taken from the cylinders themselves by diverting art of the explosion to a tank or "reservoir t ough a pipe. without materially reducing the power of the engine, andifi equently where engines of this charactera'rev .used a quantity of compressed air is used for other'purposes and connection can be made in any 6f the ways convenient and mo'stde'sirable, but where an air supply .is not maintained I have provided thepumpmechanism previously mentionedjwhereby a supply of compressed air may;flit/rays:be V

had in the tank or reservoir locatedadj acent to the engine.

There are many minorchanges-and alterations that can be 'made within my invention aside from those herein suggested, and I would therefore have it understood that I The supply of do not limit myseli to the exact construction I herein shown and described, but claim all that falls fairly withinthe spirit and scope of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I "claim: as new, and'desire to secure by Letters iE atent, 1S2;

' a In an explosive engine, the combination of a plurality of, cylinders, a source of fluid pressure supply; means for admitting fluid pressure into each of said cylinders in succesthe cylin er, a valve controlling said passage normally springressed to seated position, and ada ted to e actuated in either direction by uid pressure, a second passage connecting said valve plug with the pressure connection aforesaid, a valve controlling said assage and having a stem projecting outsi e of the lug, a, spring ,between the outer end of said to seat the valve; a passage connecting the aforesaid two assages in the plu a ca late for said p ug rovidin a gui e for t e st mentioned va ve in t e lug; an eccentric and rod for each of said last named valve-stems operated from thecrank shaft of theengine, said'eccentrics being so rela tively disposed upon the shaft that one of said valve stems will be actuated by its corresponding rod in ever rotatable position of the shaft, and means or guiding said rods.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JULIAN F. DENISON. Witnesses:

GEORGE E. HALL, JACOB CAPLON.

stem and the! plug tending 

